v for vendetta Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Speaking of comics, hey, there's this guy named Alan Moore who's written a few books you might have heard of. I doubt he will ever, ever put in an appearance at Comic-Con. He's notorious for being awesomely grumpy about the movie adaptations of his seminal works, like, say Watchmen. He didn't hold back in an phone interview with the Los Angeles Times last year. One of the more colorful things he said was, "Will the film even be coming out? There are these legal problems now, which I find wonderfully ironic. Perhaps it's been cursed from afar, from England. And I can tell you that I will also be spitting venom all over it for months to come."

The movie did come out to rather mixed reviews, although it's very doubtful Moore noticed or even gave a sh*t. (Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons was onhand at last year's Comic-Con to discuss the movie, however, which you read read more about here, courtesy of Elisabeth Rappe.

Other choice words from the genius behind Watchmen, V for Vendetta, From Hell, and other comics-turned-films that he equally loathed:

"I find film in its modern form to be quite bullying... It spoon-feeds us, which has the effect of watering down our collective cultural imagination. It is as if we are freshly hatched birds looking up with our mouths open waiting for Hollywood to feed us more regurgitated worms. The Watchmen film sounds like more regurgitated worms. I for one am sick of worms. Can't we get something else? Perhaps some takeout? Even Chinese worms would be a nice change."

He also didn't mince words about both the comic book industry and the movie industry.

Notwithstanding the general and persistent unprofessionalism of many of the journalists in attendance at this weekend's Los Angeles press junket for Orphan - which is noteworthy, but not worth going into specifics about - a few valuable tidbits of information did actually come out of the interviews (although for details on the film itself, check in later this week from our hopefully more successful New York team). But during an interview with producer Joel Silver, the subject of Zack Snyder's Watchmen came up; and Silver, who was scheduled to produce his own version of the acclaimed graphic novel series in the early 1990s, had a few things to say about Snyder's film, not to mention what his own Watchmen might have looked like.

Discussing his upcoming slate of films, Silver explained that the preponderance of graphic novel adaptations and comic book-themed material was nothing new to his eclectic filmography.

I'm about to take off for a week-long vacation, but I'll leave you with this: James McTeigue, whose V for Vendetta was wonderful, angry and brave, has signed on to direct a sci-fi thriller that sounds a bit like a second X-Files sequel -- which may be why I think it sounds so cool. Revelations, from a script by John Salvati (the forthcoming Andrew Niccol/Al Pacino Dali biopic), will involve a female journalist who investigates a series of bizarre murders and discovers that the dead were all being treated by the head of an organization that studies alien abductions.

V for Vendetta, as well as McTeigue's follow-up Ninja Assassin, due next year, were produced by the Wachowski Brothers. In fact, V was known more as a Wachowski Brothers film than a McTeigue film -- sort of the way Judd Apatow stole all the credit for Superbad from Greg Mottola. It doesn't sound like the Wachowskis will have a hand in this one, which might let the talented McTeigue spread his wings a bit. V showed fantastic promise; smart filmmakers who strive to make great genre films are hard to come by.

What we need is another good alien invasion TV show. Shame that no one wanted to watch the last one...

So there's a little mystery starting to brew on the net surrounding the Wachowskis' action flick, Ninja Assassin. Over at kungfurodeo.com, there are reports that a new casting call for the flick is proof that the brothers are actually making a live-action version of the classic anime, Ninja Scroll. For those fans of Scroll out there, maybe you can tell me if the characters on the casting sheet over at Freebase Media look a little familiar.

The story of Ninja Scroll is set in feudal Japan. A ninja-for-hire is forced into fighting an old nemesis that has set his sights on toppling the Japanese government. Complicating matters is a group of super-demons under the bad guys control. So far, not much is known about the plot of Ninja Assassin, but all we do know is that Korean pop star Rain has scored a part in the James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) directed flick.

Well, we probably all should have seen this coming when you consider that Alan Moore seems to hate the movies Hollywood makes from his works just as much as Hollywood loves to make them. In an interview with Wizard Universe, the comic book legend spoke about his current involvement (or lack thereof) in Zack Snyder's big-screen version of Moore's Watchmen. According to Moore, he has officially (read, legally) washed his hands of the whole thing. Moore says, "I got a piece of paper a couple of months ago saying, "I, the undersigned, hereby give you permission to take my name off of the film and to send my money to Dave Gibbons." So I sent that back to them all signed and sealed, which means that now I don't have to rant and spew about the film. I'm just simply not interested in it". Watchmen is one of the most respected comic books out there, so you can imagine there is a lot riding on Snyder getting it right. There has already been plenty of discussion about casting choices, but so far, most fans seem to be cautiously optimistic about the whole thing.

In the past, Moore has battled with filmmakers over other film versions of his books like V for Vendetta and the famously crappy The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. But it would seem that Moore has learned something this time around, and instead of kicking up a fuss, he just walked away from the whole project. As for Moore's original Watchmen collaborator, Dave Gibbons, he seems a lot more positive about the whole thing. On the official production blog for the film, Gibbons waxed poetically after viewing the sets, saying, "Finally, tired but happy, arms around my new buddies, costumed and otherwise, it's my turn to smile for the camera. A month later, I'm smiling still". Well at least someone sounds happy about the whole thing. So while this is the last we are going to hear from Moore on the subject, that doesn't mean there won't be plenty more Watchmen updates to come before the film hits theaters on March 6th, 2009.

Everyone up to speed on The Golden Compass rhubarb? Claims are that the new film adaptation tends to soft-shoe some of the pretty clearly anti-fundamentalist religion elements in Philip Pullman's source novel. Here's Ryan Stewart's Cinematical item on Nicole Kidman going public with the "watering down" last August. Now, on MTV's movie blog, director Chris Weitz reaches for a time-tested defense: "Philip Pullman likes to quote James M. Cain on this issue. Once, when somebody asked him if he was worried what a movie adaptation would do to his book, he said, `What do you mean? The book is right over there, on the shelf.'"

Now, let me digress for a second. The only time I ever met Allen Ginsberg (wonderfully played by David Cross in I'm Not There, BTW), I wasted my thirty seconds in his presence listening to the same comment regarding Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. When a sage like Ginsberg says this bit about the unruined book you listen. But here's other claimants: In the blog Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule, a correspondent is complaining about V for Vendetta, a film disowned by the source writer Alan Moore: "I keep meeting people who love this movie and my only solace in my bitterness after seeing what they did to Moore's brilliant work is a quote from the author himself:

"Interviewer: 'How do you feel about Hollywood ruining your work?'
Moore: 'What are you talking about, they didn't ruin my work, it is right up there on the shelf.'"

Here, a person worried about the then-upcoming film of Lord of the Rings cites Stephen King as the one who knows where his unruined books are, right on the shelf; here, it is Larry Niven calming the fears of those who feel his book Ringworld will be ruined as a film. Just for good measure, from the Portland, Oregon blog "Book Pusher," is a list of five good books that are waiting to be ruined, and the best way to ruin them. Can you wait for the The Farrelly Brother's wild comedy Me Talk Pretty Some Day with Adrien Brody as David Sedaris (does the hero have to be gay)?
My point is: let's don't hear this time-worn excuse anymore. Here's one from Evelyn Waugh instead: "Each book purchased for motion pictures has some individual quality, good or bad, that has made it remarkable. It is the work of a great array of highly paid and incompatible writers to distinguish this quality, separate it, and obliterate it."

He reportedly had a lot of help on V for Vendetta. Then he helped out as an 'additional director' on The Invasion. So when are we going to see if James McTeigue can direct a film solo? Possibly as early as next year, actually. The former first assistant director (The Matrix trilogy; Attack of the Clones) has just been hired to make Bangkok 8, a mystery thriller set in Thailand. Based on the first of a series of novels by John Burdett, Bangkok 8 follows the story of a Thai police detective investigating the murder of his partner and a U.S. marine, both of whom died by snake bite. The trail of the murderers takes the Buddhist detective, who is named Sonchai Jitpleecheep, into the seedy underground of the jade, drug and sex trades of Bangkok.

The movie should appeal to anyone familiar with Bangkok, as Burdett, who lives in Thailand, fills his books with plenty of commentary and insight about the city and its corruptions. But despite the fact that it sounds like too much of foreign film to attract the sort of fans McTeigue is used to, the movie will presumably have enough action elements to sell to a wide audience. One thing the novel has going for it, as far as multiplex interests are concerned, is an American love interest, described by Amazon.com as a "sexually frustrated FBI agent." Also, Sonchai apparently has conversations with the ghost of his dead partner. Millennium Films hopes to turn Burdett's series into a franchise of films, so McTeigue will definitely need to deliver something better than V for Vendetta. And since this time he will be without the assistance and guidance of the Wachowski Brothers, who are probably too busy making Speed Racer, I wish McTeigue a lot of luck.

My love of cinema originally came about through my love of production design, particularly for science fiction and fantasy films. As I grew up, one of my dream careers was art director, and some my early heroes were Dante Ferretti and Bo Welch. Naturally, then, a lot of my favorite filmmakers have been those who display creative art direction in their movies. Terry Gilliam has always been at the top of my list.

Other fans of Gilliam will agree with me that no other living director is more deserving of recognition by the Art Directors Guild. In fact, I'm surprised that he wasn't the first choice to receive the guild's Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award when it was originally given in 1998 (to Norman Jewison instead). Other filmmakers that I expect to see honored in the future include Tim Burton, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.

Gilliam will receive the award at the Art Director's Guild Awards on February 17, when the guild also names the winners of its prizes for excellence in production design for 2006. Like other guild awards, the ADG's honors recognize distinct categories for its field. Nominated films are separated into three groups: period piece; contemporary; and fantasy (you may remember these are the same categories for the Costume Designer Guild Awards).

I'm all for these guild awards, with their specific categories and distinct recognitions, but I'm not sure I understand the Costume Designer Guild's honor for "Distinguished Actor." If the reasoning is that the recipient of this award is someone who looks good in costumes, or makes costume designers look good, then Helen Mirren makes sense as this year's winner. But this reason doesn't explain why the guild is also giving Sandra Bullock an award. Suddenly, the logic falls apart -- especially for anyone who has seen Miss Congeniality 2.

The costume designers don't need to give actors any more praise. And Mirren certainly doesn't need any more trophies this year. To me, the guild's recognition of the different genres of costume design is interesting and appealing enough without some unnecessary star-kissing.

The categories for the Costume Designer Guild Awards separately acknowledge achievements for modern costume, period costume and fantasy costume. The lumping of these genres together into the Best Costume Design Oscar doesn't give credit to the differences between them, and it often ignores the difficulty of modern costuming, which many people assume is as easy as the everyday act of getting dressed in the morning.

If you're like me and love movies but don't relish the thought of going out to the theater all that much, then you most likely have some sort of home theater setup. And if you're also like me, you probably have a High Def TV so you can maximize your viewing experience by watching as many of your favorite movies and TV programs in High Def as possible.

At the moment, as you probably already know, there are two competing types of High Def DVDs -- HD-DVD and Blu-ray. For me, HD-DVD is the way to go so far because every Blu-ray to HD-DVD comparison I've seen has shown me HD-DVD is, in many ways, superior. So, I use HD-DVD at home in my personal home theater setup. If you don't have some sort of HD-DVD or Blu-ray player, you can also download content from sources such as Microsoft's XBox Live Service. But how can you maximize the High Def viewing experience and make sure you're getting the best possible picture quality?

Well, an article over at Jake Ludington's site is a great place to start. In the article, the author enlists expert advice from video professionals and compares HD-DVD programming downloaded from the XBox Live service to HD-DVDs rented from places like Netflix. The article goes into great depth and the conclusions are well thought-out and very interesting -- especially if you're considering the purchase of an XBox 360 with attached HD-DVD player or other HD-DVD purchases this holiday season. So, check it out -- you might learn something ...